Thursday, May 28, 2015

We had a fantastic time on our field trip to the Satwiwa Cultural Center in the Santa Monica Mountains yesterday. We used Native American hand drills to make abalone necklaces; we acted out a Chumash legend; we went inside a Chumash dwelling called an 'ap'; we tasted chia seeds; we learned about the native habitats; and we hiked trails for about a mile. A great trip!

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

On this day in 1897 Bram Stoker's book Dracula was first published, inspiring countless adaptations into plays and movies, an unending procession of imitators, and of course also inspiring millions of Halloween costumes.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

We are going on a field trip next Wednesday, May 27, to Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa, a site in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. We will attend a Biodiversity Program called The Chumash: A Changing People, A Changing Land, presented by the National Park Service. We will leave at 8:30 A.M. and return by 2:00 P.M.

Students will eat lunch at the park. They may bring a sack lunch with them, or the school can provide a sack lunch. We need parent volunteers to chaperone, so any parents may come with us. If there is space on the bus parents may come on the bus with us, or you may drive your own vehicle and meet us there.

Students should wear comfortable clothes and good shoes for walking. We walk for about a mile. Hiking boots are not required, but close-toed sturdy shoes are helpful. Water is available, however during the hike there are no drinking fountains. Students are encouraged to bring water and, if possible, bring reusable bottles.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Fourth graders learn about different aspects of Life Science, Earth Science and Physical Science during the school year. They are currently finishing up a unit about fast changes to the earth's surface - volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides, mudslides, and floods.

As part of our study of volcanoes we learned that they can be classified in different types depending on the profile they present.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

After the Gold Rush and after the Civil War, plans were implemented to join California to the rest of the nation via railroad tracks. For the first time people could ride a train all the way from the east coast to the west coast of the United States.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Multiplying fractions by whole numbers is easy! Fourth graders are learning how. In the example above, you simply multiply the numerator 4 by the whole number 5 to get 20. Write that over the the denominator of 20 and voila! - you've solved the problem! If you want to get really fancy reduce 20/5 to the whole number 4.

Monday, May 4, 2015

Fourth graders are learning some great American poems. Today's poem is "Casey at the Bat." Here is the first stanza:

The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville nine that day;
The score stood four to two with but one inning more to play.
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game...